Yom Kippur

Happy Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)! I'm in a women's bible study Wednesday morning where we are watching videos with Beth Moore preach A Women's Heart: God's Dwelling Place. It's basically a bible study about the tabernacle.

Anyways we are learning about the traditions of the priest and what he needed to do in the tabernacle. I started joking around with the ladies. I am a very visual thinker. So I'm picturing this...

The afternoon sun gleams down in a hot dessert, a crowd of people surrounding a tent patiently waiting for a man's return as he enters in. It's an old Jewish priest entering into a tent site, slowly but assuringly. His whole attire is made with the finest linen and embroidered like none other. From top to bottom, from the embroidered tunic, robe, chestpiece, ephod, turban, and sash; he is dressed immaculate (Exodus 28). Oddly there is a rope tied around his ankle and bells around his bottom of his hem, jingling as he takes each step entering in. First the Holy. Later he will enter into the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:33). And that is as close as he will ever come. It is this one day that he has the chance. This one day he will meet God. Until someday when God takes him up to heaven and he gets to say "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY" (Revelations 4:8).

Can you picture it like I can? I started joking around during the discussion. We have learned all the little things that are in the tabernacle and their use. You see he goes and sacrifices a bull over coals in the braisin altar (Exodus 27). I picture a huge bull, like the one you would see running the streets of Spain in the Running of the Bulls. You smell the smell of....meat? BBQ meat? He takes the coals to altar of incense inside of the Holy Place. And he has to take some of the blood to the ark of the covenant. At the veil he splatters blood on it. And the coals probably have some of the smell left on them. I know they are using incense. But it seems pretty messy and not the most attractive smell in the world. At this point he probably has attracted flies and who knows what else. I can't imagine this smelling all that great for God to refer to it as a sweet fragrance.

One of the other ladies at the table mentioned a time she had visited Guatemala. They had just arrived and got to their destination and got outside the car when a smell hit them. She described it as the best fragrance as ever before. They kept on commenting on that wonderful smell. It filled the whole place, the whole surrounding. It turns out they had arrived the same time that Guatemala does their processional for Easter. In their processional they used the incense, as talked about here. BUT they were a quarter of a mile away. Wow, that incense! God is really El Elyon (God Most High, Creator and Possessor of Heaven and Earth)(Genesis 14:19-20, 22-23). Jehovah Jireh (The Lord who sees and who provides)(Phillipian 4:19). God is truly Jehovah Tsidkenu (The Lord our Righteousness) (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

Can you see it happen before you? Back to the old priest. Can you see it all now?Sometimes I feel like one of the crowd just peering in, watching the man walk away from me. Awaiting for his return. Just outside, looking in, and waiting. Wishing I could be there. Wondering what it is like. Wondering what the priest is doing next. I want a piece of that God. I want a piece of that blessing that the priest will speak over the crowd. I want to go past that veil and get so close I can almost touch You. So close that I have to remove my shoes. So close that if I get any closer I would have to go to heaven. I want to see that incense traveling up (Psalm 141:1-2); the white smoke billowing around me as prayers lifted up to Your Name.

Thank You Jesus that You sacrificed (Hebrews 6:19-20, Hebrews 10:19-20). Thank You that you tore the veil in half. That now we can call on You. We can come. We can enter in. We can ENTER IN (John 3: 16). To feel You, to be with El Shaddai (God All-powerful and all-sufficient) (Genesis 17:1). Jehovah Shammah (The Lord is there)(Ezekiel 48:35).

John 11:41-42